This makes no sense to me. I travel frequetly around Europe, particularly to these countries. Felt English proficiency has steadily improved over the last thi

This makes no sense to me. I travel frequetly around Europe, particularly to these countries. Felt English proficiency has steadily improved over the last thirty years. When I visited these countries as a backpacking teenager, in my summer holidays, almost no one spoke English. Since about a decade everyone who is under thirty seems to speak English quite well. Aka: I do not need to use my crappy Spanish or Italian or more or less non-existing French skills to get along. :)